If imaging both in the visible spectrum and in the near infrared range is to be carried out, the difficulty often arises that known endoscopes (in particular their imaging lens systems) are not designed for this. This then leads to the focal plane for light from the visible spectrum not coinciding with the focal plane for light from the near infrared range. This distance between the two focal planes which is present in the axial direction is often called longitudinal chromatic aberration.
It is known from US 2011/0249323 A1 to join together two dove prisms on their longest sides and to provide a dichroic splitter layer therebetween in order to thus guide light from the visible spectrum substantially in one of the two dove prisms and light from the near infrared range substantially in the other of the two dove prisms and then to superimpose it again (FIG. 3 of US 2011/0249323 A1). The optical path lengths can be set such that they are different by the choice of the prism materials. A disadvantage here, however, is that on the one hand a lateral offset is present between the incident light ray in the prism arrangement and the exiting light ray from the prism arrangement. In addition, the compensation of the longitudinal chromatic aberration takes place purely via the different materials, as the geometric paths for light from the visible spectrum and light from the near infrared range are the same, with the result that the possibility for compensation of the longitudinal chromatic aberration is severely limited.